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Club Advocates Pro-Life Message Quietly

Sometimes saying nothing at all can be the greatest form of advocacy.

Classrooms and hallways were noticeably quieter during the school day Tuesday, Oct. 22 as the Eagles for Life, CJ’s pro-life club, promoted a day of silence in solidarity with victims of abortion. Participating students adorned red badges, bracelets, armbands and signs, marking themselves with messages supporting women and the thousands of unborn children who are forever silenced on a daily basis.

The words “I am silent today… I love babies” were conspicuously inscribed in black Sharpie marker against the red background of an 8-inch piece of duct tape worn as insignia by junior Victoria Thornton. When asked about it, she reached for pen and paper.

“I am very dedicated to the pro-life cause. I believe wholeheartedly that abortion is wrong,” Victoria wrote in reply, remaining silent while maintaining a respectful and responsive attitude toward her peers and others.

But why, if intending to raise awareness about the injustices of abortion, stay mute on the subject?

Kate Schultz, a senior member of Eagles for Life who has chosen to more closely examine the issue of abortion as part of her Senior Justice Capstone Project, said the significance of not speaking could be illustrated in one phrase.

“Our club’s motto is, ‘We are a voice for the voiceless,’ and I think that really helps put the day of silence into perspective,” she said. Kate helped organize the initiative -- which was modeled after the Pro-Life National Day of Silence -- and facilitated other pro-life awareness activities for students during the week of Oct. 22.

“We really appreciated the teachers’ support and respect of our choice to be silent,” Kate said, explaining how accommodations were made for alternative forms of communication. “It made the day much more meaningful knowing that the faculty supported our beliefs.”

Even more ubiquitous than silence were the Halloween themed, orange-capped baby bottles carried by students throughout the week. In partnership with Elizabeth’s New Life Center, the Eagles for Life distributed the bottles in homeroom with instructions to fill them with loose change and prayers.

Last year, a similar drive hosted by CJ’s Key Club helped raise more than $3,000, or enough to save six lives at the non-profit organization located on Forest Avenue in Dayton according to an article in their fall 2013 newsletter, the New Life News: “Perhaps most touching were the heartfelt prayers the students submitted with the bottles, some simple in their sincerity and some as painstakingly detailed and decorated as the bottles.”

Bottles, prayers and donations to benefit Elizabeth’s New Life Center are being collected during the week of Oct. 28. This year’s results are expected to be announced soon.